"Kids must know how much you care before they care how much you know" Rick Wormelli
In taking to my endeavors as future science educator my plan is to allow those words to guide me. Teaching isnt about knowing, it isnt about telling, and it must certianly isnt about talking and controlling. I look towards teacing as an art and a science, very similar to sceince. Obviously science is a science, but in the simple eleganace of key discoveries and setups it is to an art. If i can keep this attitude in my future I feel confident that i can be an effective teacher.
In a direct interpretatation of Wormelli's quote one might expect to see me at the mall with my students on friday night, but i can assure you that is not the case. However, being unaproachable is equally harmfull for the kids. My plan is to be the teacher that the kids love, but not the one that you read about in the paper for buying his students alcahol. By showing an interest in each kid and there own unique life i can become a person to them, not just another teacher. Not every minute must be spent on the content for it to be meaningfull. By connecting with the kids they will pay more attention, not only to what i have to say, but to what I do and how I act.
At this point teaching science becomes easier, as science in a way teaches itself. To me scince is about discovery and intrigue. By showing students that there is much more to science than memorizing the periodic table i hope to instill a life long lovce not only of science, but of learning and discovery. I feel that as a middle level sceince educator my job is to instill in the students a love of the experiance, once they have this we can fill in the details, because now they want to know. To me this is one of the most effective ways of teaching anything, especially science. By running my classroom this way I hope to model independent learning, helping students to take somehting from themselves. Science, however, is certianly not soley personal work. Students will see to get there own ideas flowing and then to work with those around them to continue there learning a discovery. A skill that will hopefully allow them to work productivly in teams for the rest of there lives.
Science isnt about the facts in the book, its about the way those facts were discovered and how those discoveries impacted not only each other but how we love our daily lives, especially in middle school. At this level the means is worth so much more than the ends, a rarity in school. And besides, kids like to blow things up, now all we need to do is teach them to figure out the how and the why. Love first, facts second.
End Of Semester Revision
Four years ago I came to this school not knowing what I wanted besides to not be in school. In an interesting turn of fate I decided I would become one of them, one of those people that high school would have been great without; I would become a teacher.
I decided this for all of the wrong reasons. I was going to teach because I figured it would be easy, besides teachers get more than half of the year off anyway, not a bad deal. So I take a few classes, I talk in front of people and then I lay on the beach all summer. I suppose I can deal with school for a few years, teaching should be easy enough.
It is very interesting that I ended up where I did, never from kindergarten through high school would I have told you I wanted to be a teacher, and I don’t ever remember playing school as a kid. But yet here I am. And not because I will get summers off, or because it will be easy, but because I want to make a difference.
It likely seems odd that I have admitted to all of my colleagues, and the very professor responsible for my graduation that I decided to teach for all of the wrong reasons. Yet it is those very wrong reasons that make me feel as though I will be an effective teacher.
I went through thirteen years of public education, thirteen years of pre-teacher training in a sense, and still had no clue what it really means to teach someone. My mother used to tell me that 95% of teachers are paid too much, and that you could never pay the other 5% enough. My problem was that all I remembered of school at first was those 95%. As I progressed in my classes I thought back on this and I realized that something had to be done about this. Teachers spend more time with kids than many parents, yet only 5% are really making a difference? As I truly think back on my school years I can see teachers that made a difference, but they were the minority. Seeing what teaching isn’t, and more importantly what it can and should be is why I’m still here – and those are all the right reasons.
My intention is to teach middle school science, a job I truly look forward too. I am lucky because I have seen so many examples of how not to do it. As a person I seldom see things like everyone else, it often takes me more than once to understand and more importantly I truly strive to understand what I am doing. I seldom have cared about the facts before I have had a love for something, and I like to think that I am not alone in that school of thought.
I said at the beginning of the year that I want Rick Wormelli’s words, “kids don’t know how much you know until they know how much you care” to guide me and I still do. Not only do kids need to feel loved and wanted, but they are also ‘the world’s best crap detectors’ a child will instantly pick up on those teachers that are there for the paycheck, as opposed to those doing it for the love of it. It is my obvious goal to be the later. And I think all I have to do is present science, not magic or a story, to do that.
Science is an interesting topic, especially to a middle school student. Science is both beyond everyday thought and completely grounded in everything that we do at the same time. Students will have all of their high school and higher education experience to learn the terms the facts and the formulas, but they only have one chance to develop a love and a passion, not just for science but for learning and discovery. Conveniently learning and discovery ARE science, especially at the middle school level. I want my surgeons to know the terminology, but I would rather my middle school students take simple phenomena and see how that applies to the amazing world around us. If students can learn to look at a problem and think though it, even without the formulas, or without the vocabulary, I feel as though I have done my job and done it well.
I hold this philosophy in everything I do and teach, both formally and informally. Simply put, vocabulary isn’t science. Formulas aren’t science. Lab reports are not science. But rather curiosity and solving problems are at the heart of what science is. By teaching students that science isn’t what’s written in the book, isn’t what they’re older brother is doing in chemistry, and isn’t memorizing the steps to photosynthesis, and then we have begun to develop something in our students; a passion for learning.
This is even easy to do in theory. Everyday students across the country ask that question; “what do we need to know this for?” Science is unique in that it can answer that question. I intend to set up my class to answer questions through hands on activities as well as help prepare students for the rest of the educational experience. Science shows students the value of both independent and group work. Often times in the real world, scientific or not, people work alone and then in teams to solve problems. This is care value that I hold in teaching science, and basically it simply means keeping the science real.
Science isn’t about the facts in the book, it’s about the way those facts were discovered and how those discoveries impacted not only each other but how we love our daily lives, especially in middle school. At this level the means is worth so much more than the ends, a rarity in school. And besides, kids like to blow things up, now all we need to do is teach them to figure out the how and the why. Love first, facts second.
Final Revision
"Kids must know how much you care before they care how much you know" Rick Wormelli
I want to teach for all the kids that think like me, and for all the kids that don’t. For all those who come from affluent homes, and all those who don’t. For all those that love science, and for the many that don’t.For the kids who come to school late, and those that don’t come at all. For those that think they are above it all, and those scared to fail. For the tall kids, and the short, the academically gifted and the rest. For those who believe in Global Warming, and those that don’t. For all the democrats, and yes, even the Republicans.
I want to teach because these kids in front of me are the next generation, and without them we have nothing. The values we, I, instill in them are the ones that will carry the world in the future. This kids are the movers and shakers f our future. With that all in mind I can begin to think about how it should be done, what we should really teach are students. School is life for these kids, and school should prepare kids for life. There are tests in life, and some are even multiple choice, but there is s much more than that to this life.
Unfortunately today with NCLB and schools trying to prove that they are the best, kids get the false impression that in order to be successful they must get A’s, they must become doctors, or at least lawyers. Kid’s today see only one route to success, how many times do you see a carpenter and a plumber come in for career day? A Janitor?
Kids need to be prepared to make the best of this life and to be proud of what they do, and it is my belief that school should do that. Sure school should have lessons and standards, even nationally standardized tests. But school should not get in the way of education.
Kids today need to learn that they can learn, that they can achieve, yes even if it’s a C, and that they do in fact matter. I plan on creating science that not only does this but mirrors life. In life people do things for one of two reasons, either they want too, r they have too. In school it should be the same, except it should be because they want to whenever possible. Science is an ideal venue for making this happen.
Science lends itself to learning by doing, or better put learning by playing. There is an innate sense of honest accomplishment in learning how something works by taking it apart and making it work. And this is what science should be.
Those that really get science think of science as intrigue and discovery, as a way to solve problems and make the world a better place. If I can teach my classes in this manner I should never have to answer the ‘why do we have to learn this’ question.
In my future endeavors as a Science Educator I hope to let my love and passion for both kids and science guide me to teaching students that they can do it, whatever that it might be. Never let your schooling get in the way of your education.
In taking to my endeavors as future science educator my plan is to allow those words to guide me. Teaching isnt about knowing, it isnt about telling, and it must certianly isnt about talking and controlling. I look towards teacing as an art and a science, very similar to sceince. Obviously science is a science, but in the simple eleganace of key discoveries and setups it is to an art. If i can keep this attitude in my future I feel confident that i can be an effective teacher.
In a direct interpretatation of Wormelli's quote one might expect to see me at the mall with my students on friday night, but i can assure you that is not the case. However, being unaproachable is equally harmfull for the kids. My plan is to be the teacher that the kids love, but not the one that you read about in the paper for buying his students alcahol. By showing an interest in each kid and there own unique life i can become a person to them, not just another teacher. Not every minute must be spent on the content for it to be meaningfull. By connecting with the kids they will pay more attention, not only to what i have to say, but to what I do and how I act.
At this point teaching science becomes easier, as science in a way teaches itself. To me scince is about discovery and intrigue. By showing students that there is much more to science than memorizing the periodic table i hope to instill a life long lovce not only of science, but of learning and discovery. I feel that as a middle level sceince educator my job is to instill in the students a love of the experiance, once they have this we can fill in the details, because now they want to know. To me this is one of the most effective ways of teaching anything, especially science. By running my classroom this way I hope to model independent learning, helping students to take somehting from themselves. Science, however, is certianly not soley personal work. Students will see to get there own ideas flowing and then to work with those around them to continue there learning a discovery. A skill that will hopefully allow them to work productivly in teams for the rest of there lives.
Science isnt about the facts in the book, its about the way those facts were discovered and how those discoveries impacted not only each other but how we love our daily lives, especially in middle school. At this level the means is worth so much more than the ends, a rarity in school. And besides, kids like to blow things up, now all we need to do is teach them to figure out the how and the why. Love first, facts second.
End Of Semester Revision
Four years ago I came to this school not knowing what I wanted besides to not be in school. In an interesting turn of fate I decided I would become one of them, one of those people that high school would have been great without; I would become a teacher.
I decided this for all of the wrong reasons. I was going to teach because I figured it would be easy, besides teachers get more than half of the year off anyway, not a bad deal. So I take a few classes, I talk in front of people and then I lay on the beach all summer. I suppose I can deal with school for a few years, teaching should be easy enough.
It is very interesting that I ended up where I did, never from kindergarten through high school would I have told you I wanted to be a teacher, and I don’t ever remember playing school as a kid. But yet here I am. And not because I will get summers off, or because it will be easy, but because I want to make a difference.
It likely seems odd that I have admitted to all of my colleagues, and the very professor responsible for my graduation that I decided to teach for all of the wrong reasons. Yet it is those very wrong reasons that make me feel as though I will be an effective teacher.
I went through thirteen years of public education, thirteen years of pre-teacher training in a sense, and still had no clue what it really means to teach someone. My mother used to tell me that 95% of teachers are paid too much, and that you could never pay the other 5% enough. My problem was that all I remembered of school at first was those 95%. As I progressed in my classes I thought back on this and I realized that something had to be done about this. Teachers spend more time with kids than many parents, yet only 5% are really making a difference? As I truly think back on my school years I can see teachers that made a difference, but they were the minority. Seeing what teaching isn’t, and more importantly what it can and should be is why I’m still here – and those are all the right reasons.
My intention is to teach middle school science, a job I truly look forward too. I am lucky because I have seen so many examples of how not to do it. As a person I seldom see things like everyone else, it often takes me more than once to understand and more importantly I truly strive to understand what I am doing. I seldom have cared about the facts before I have had a love for something, and I like to think that I am not alone in that school of thought.
I said at the beginning of the year that I want Rick Wormelli’s words, “kids don’t know how much you know until they know how much you care” to guide me and I still do. Not only do kids need to feel loved and wanted, but they are also ‘the world’s best crap detectors’ a child will instantly pick up on those teachers that are there for the paycheck, as opposed to those doing it for the love of it. It is my obvious goal to be the later. And I think all I have to do is present science, not magic or a story, to do that.
Science is an interesting topic, especially to a middle school student. Science is both beyond everyday thought and completely grounded in everything that we do at the same time. Students will have all of their high school and higher education experience to learn the terms the facts and the formulas, but they only have one chance to develop a love and a passion, not just for science but for learning and discovery. Conveniently learning and discovery ARE science, especially at the middle school level. I want my surgeons to know the terminology, but I would rather my middle school students take simple phenomena and see how that applies to the amazing world around us. If students can learn to look at a problem and think though it, even without the formulas, or without the vocabulary, I feel as though I have done my job and done it well.
I hold this philosophy in everything I do and teach, both formally and informally. Simply put, vocabulary isn’t science. Formulas aren’t science. Lab reports are not science. But rather curiosity and solving problems are at the heart of what science is. By teaching students that science isn’t what’s written in the book, isn’t what they’re older brother is doing in chemistry, and isn’t memorizing the steps to photosynthesis, and then we have begun to develop something in our students; a passion for learning.
This is even easy to do in theory. Everyday students across the country ask that question; “what do we need to know this for?” Science is unique in that it can answer that question. I intend to set up my class to answer questions through hands on activities as well as help prepare students for the rest of the educational experience. Science shows students the value of both independent and group work. Often times in the real world, scientific or not, people work alone and then in teams to solve problems. This is care value that I hold in teaching science, and basically it simply means keeping the science real.
Science isn’t about the facts in the book, it’s about the way those facts were discovered and how those discoveries impacted not only each other but how we love our daily lives, especially in middle school. At this level the means is worth so much more than the ends, a rarity in school. And besides, kids like to blow things up, now all we need to do is teach them to figure out the how and the why. Love first, facts second.
Final Revision
"Kids must know how much you care before they care how much you know" Rick WormelliI want to teach for all the kids that think like me, and for all the kids that don’t. For all those who come from affluent homes, and all those who don’t. For all those that love science, and for the many that don’t. For the kids who come to school late, and those that don’t come at all. For those that think they are above it all, and those scared to fail. For the tall kids, and the short, the academically gifted and the rest. For those who believe in Global Warming, and those that don’t. For all the democrats, and yes, even the Republicans.
I want to teach because these kids in front of me are the next generation, and without them we have nothing. The values we, I, instill in them are the ones that will carry the world in the future. This kids are the movers and shakers f our future. With that all in mind I can begin to think about how it should be done, what we should really teach are students.
School is life for these kids, and school should prepare kids for life. There are tests in life, and some are even multiple choice, but there is s much more than that to this life.
Unfortunately today with NCLB and schools trying to prove that they are the best, kids get the false impression that in order to be successful they must get A’s, they must become doctors, or at least lawyers. Kid’s today see only one route to success, how many times do you see a carpenter and a plumber come in for career day? A Janitor?
Kids need to be prepared to make the best of this life and to be proud of what they do, and it is my belief that school should do that. Sure school should have lessons and standards, even nationally standardized tests. But school should not get in the way of education.
Kids today need to learn that they can learn, that they can achieve, yes even if it’s a C, and that they do in fact matter. I plan on creating science that not only does this but mirrors life. In life people do things for one of two reasons, either they want too, r they have too. In school it should be the same, except it should be because they want to whenever possible. Science is an ideal venue for making this happen.
Science lends itself to learning by doing, or better put learning by playing. There is an innate sense of honest accomplishment in learning how something works by taking it apart and making it work. And this is what science should be.
Those that really get science think of science as intrigue and discovery, as a way to solve problems and make the world a better place. If I can teach my classes in this manner I should never have to answer the ‘why do we have to learn this’ question.
In my future endeavors as a Science Educator I hope to let my love and passion for both kids and science guide me to teaching students that they can do it, whatever that it might be.
Never let your schooling get in the way of your education.